Features to Look For in a Running Watch
October 27, 2009 by Running Watch Reviews
Filed under Running Watch Articles
If you have made the decision and the commitment to improve your health by running as a form of physical aerobic exercise—good for you!
Besides investing in a good pair of serviceable running shoes, you might want to consider buying a running watch, too.
Running watches are designed to work with you and help you make the very most of your activity.
There are literally hundreds of sport watches on the market available to buy, so the buying process can seem a tad overwhelming. But there are certain features you should look for in a running watch that may not be found in a regular sport watch.
To complicate things even further, the type of running watch that will best suit your needs depends on certain factors, such as the type of running you do or plan to do.
If you are now or intend to be a serious runner, you would benefit from a running watch with all the bells and whistles. On the other hand, if you only plan on engaging in some light running a couple or three days a week to help stay in shape; a more basic, stripped down model would probably suffice.
A basic running watch will have these features:
- A stopwatch chronograph
- Lap storage and recall
- Countdown or interval timer
The stopwatch chronograph feature will keep a running time in hours, minutes, seconds and even fractions of seconds.
Cheaper running watches won’t have the memory capacity to actually store laps or sessions, so you lose all records and times when you reset the chronograph.
A better running watch will display two or more fields on the screen, and have memory capacity to store sessions.
Always be sure to choose a running watch with a digital display that can be read easily at arm’s length.
Running watches with lap recall and storage can maintain a session history, which is very helpful in tracking your progress, as well as helping plan future sessions.
A running watch with a countdown timer will allow you to set a time and then once started— it counts down to zero. An interval timer lets you program segments of different lengths into one session.
Some other important features to look for when shopping for a running watch are:
- A scratch resistant face
- Buttons you can press easily while running
- A comfortable watch band
Remember, not all sport watches are running watches. Make sure when you’re shopping that you purchase a watch that is designed for runners.
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